Expansion seal for downspouts



Dec. 9, 1969 J. SIVADON EXPANSION SEAL FOR DOWNSPOUTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed April 4, 1968 JHN SIVADON ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4,1968 INVENTOR JOHN SIVADON United States Patent O 3,482,858 EXPANSIONSEAL FOR DOWNSPOUTS John Sivadon, 704 N. Robinson Drive, Waco, Tex.76706 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 671,422,

Sept. 28, 1967. This application Apr. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 718,838

Int. Cl. F16] 17/00, 27/00, 39/60, 49/00 U.S. Cl. 285302 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An expansion seal which is connected to afixed gutter which will permit the pipe sections forming the downspoutto expand and contract due to temperature changes and which willlikewise accommodate any lateral displacement of the pipe sections dueto the sway of a build ing structure with which these components areassociated.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlierapplication-Ser. No. 671,422 filed Sept. 28, 1967, entitled, ExpansionSeal for Downspouts, now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Building structures, of necessity, are providedwith a fixed gutter and downspout or a plurality of such gutters anddownspouts, located at strategic positions so as to enable the same tolead rain water and the like from the roof thereof and to conduct thesame to a position outwardly of the building foundation. Downspoutsusually comprise a plurality of sections of pipe or conduits which areconnected to one another as by brazing, welding, etc. However, by reasonof contraction and expansion of the pipe sections caused by temperaturechanges as well as the lateral displacement thereof due to the sway ofthe building during high winds, the connection of the pipe sections areplaced under a heavy strain and as a result thereof some means must beprovided for the relief of such stresses and strains so as to permit forsome expansion and/or contraction of the pipe sections as well as toallow for some lateral movement of the pipe sections particularly at thejuncture of the pipe sections with a fixed gutter. The structureprovided herein permits for the expansion and/or contraction of the pipesections as well as for the lateral displacement thereof without causinga break or disconnection of the pipe sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an enlarged centralvertical sectional view of the device of the present invention, partlyin elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a section taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view disclosing a drainpipe positioned betweenthe wall structure of a building;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view, shown partly in section of a roof installeddrainpipe extending downwardly between the wall structure of a building;and

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on line 66, FIGURE 4, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings ingreater detail, there is shown in FIGURE 1 thereof an eaves trough orgutter 10 of conventional design which is adapted to be secured in anysuitable manner to an exterior wall of a building and is adapted tocollect the water draining from the roof of 3,482,858 Patented Dec. 9,1969 the building and to lead the same to drain pipes which arestrategically located along the sides of the building. Such drain pipesare usually secured in some manner, as by a bracket, to the buildingwalls and lead to a point adjacent the ground, and direct the water awayfrom the building.

In present day practice, it is common for the drainpipe to be fixedlysecured to a permanently installed gutter as by Welding, brazing and thelike. This type of a connection between the gutter and drainpipe is onewhich is not efficient, inasmuch as due to expansion and contraction ofthe drainpipe due to temperature changes and also due to the sway of thebuilding, as during heavy winds, etc., the line of connection betweenthe gutter and the drainpipe is subjected to stresses and strains whicheventually will cause the aforesaid line of connection to separate witheventual leakage of the drain water down along the sides of the buildingand not through the drainpipe as is normally expected. The occurrence ofthe break of the line of connection between the gutter and drainpipebecomes increasingly important with the increase in height of thebuilding, what with greater expansion and contraction of the drainpipeas well as with the sway of the building due to winds, etc.

As can be appreciated, in installations where the downspouts are placedbetween the walls or partitions of a building, any break in theconnections between the pipe sections due to any of the aforementionedcauses will bring about a ruination of the interior of the building asthe drain water will now be caused to flow exteriorly of the drainpipesections and to flow within the interior of the building itself. Thus,it will be seen that the expansion seal of the present structure becomesmost important in installations where the drainpipe sections are betweenthe walls and/or partitions of a building structure.

The present invention provides for an expansion seal shown generally at11 in FIGURE 1 of the drawings and comprises an outer casing 12 made ofany suitable material which is secured in any manner as by a line ofweld 13 to the bottom wall of a gutter 10 which is suitably anchored toa wall or roof structure of a building. The casing 12 extends downwardlyfrom the gutter 10 and terminates a short distance therebelow as clearlyshown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

Mounted within outer casing 12 and the drainpipe 14 is an insert 15 of acohesive material, such as, mastic, rubber, powder, liquid, or othermaterial of a cohesive nature. The cohesive material is in contact withthe outer peripheral walls of the drainpipe 14 but will permit for thedrainpipe to expand and contract due to temperature changes withoutpermitting the flow of drain water outwardly of the drainpipe. Aretainer seal 16, one at each end of the area confining the insert ofcohesive material 15 is mounted interiorly of the outer casing 12 asclearly shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. The retainer seals 16 may bemade of lead, babbitt, rubber, nylon, mastic or other flexible and/orconforming materials. Thus the cohesive material 15 is housed within theconfines of the area defined by the outer casing 12, the drainpipe 14and the retainer seals 16.

Retaining elements 17 and 18 in the nature of split washers are mountedwithin the interior of the outer casing 12 as clearly shown in FIGURE 1of the drawings and encircle the drainpipe 14 although they do notcontact the exterior surface thereof, there being a slight tolerancebetween these parts as shown in the drawings, particularly FIGURE 3thereof. Thus it will be seen that with the arrangement of parts such aspreviously described, the drainpipe is free to elongate or shorten, byreason of temperature changes and to still maintain an effective sealbetween it and the gutter 10.

It is contemplated that the structure of the present invention may wellbe adapted to an anti-clogging device for downspouts shown and describedin my previous patent granted under date of Sept. 12, 1967, under No.3,341,020.

As can be appreciated, the tolerance between washers 17 and 18 willpermit for some lateral movement of the drainpipe in the event of swayof the building due to high winds, etc.

If desired, a plurality of drain openings (not shown), can be providedin the wall of the drainpipe which extends above the washer 17 so as toinsure the complete drainage of water from within the space definedbetween the washer 17 and the lower wall of the gutter.

Referring now to the modification shown in FIGURES 4, 5, and 6, there isshown therein a gutter which is shown as being embedded in a fiat roofstructure 19'. Oh-

viously, gutter 10 could readily be incorporated in a slanted roof.Drainpipe 14' is shown as extending between the walls of conventionalhollow cinder or concrete blocks 20'. If desired, suitable centeringmeans 21' may be provided along the length of the drainpipe 14' so as tomaintain the same in proper position within the hollow wall structure.As can be appreciated, drainpipe 14' can be formed of any known materialsuch as metal, plastic, etc. Drainpipe 14' may comprise a plurality ofpipe sections suitably joined to one another, or, a pipe of onecontinuous length may be employed if such is more economical to employ.

As seen in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, the upper end of drainpipe 14 issecured to an expansion seal shown generally at 11'. The expansion seal11 is constructed in the same manner as previously described withrespect to the structure shown in FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings. Also,expansion seal 11' connects with gutter 10' in the same manner asdescribed with respect to FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings.

The installation shown in FIGURES 4, 5, and 6 is adapted particularlyfor building structures which rise to considerable heights whereby, thebuilding is caused to sway under the forces of high winds. Obviously, ifno provision is made for the lateral movement of the drainpipe which isplaced between the walls or partitions of a building, the connectionbetween the drainpipe and the gutter will become loosened with theeventual leakage of drain water within the building proper and causedamage thereto.

While I have shown the drainpipe 1 4' as being located within theconfines of a hollow cinder or concrete building block, it is obviousthat the drain-pipe may be disposed between other building elementscommonly employed in the fabrication of walls or partitions of abuilding structure.

In summary, the expansion seal described hereabove provides forconnection between the gutter and drainpipe which will not be caused tobe loosened and eventually separated therefrom such as is occasionedwith the connection between these parts when the drainpipe is immovablysecured to the gutter as in conventional practice.

Having thus described the invention, 1 am aware that numerous andextensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from thespirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An expansion seal for connecting an eaves trough to a drainpipecomprising an outer casing member fixedly secured to said eaves trough,said drainpipe extending within said casing, spaced apart retainingelements mounted within said casing, spaced apart retainer seals mountedwithin said casing, adjacent said retaining elements, said spaced apartretainer seals defining an area therebetween, a cohesive materialconfined within said area, said cohesive material surrounding andengaging said drainpipe and resiliently retaining said drainpipe in saidouter casing, the said retaining elements engaging said casing andencircle the said drainpipe but are spaced apart from the outsidediameter of said drainpipe.

2. A resilient connection for an eaves trough, to a drainpipe comprisinga pair of conduit members having an expansion seal formed therebetween,one of said conduits secured to said eaves trough and the other saidconduit forming a drainpipe, spaced apart retainer elements engagingwith one of said pair of conduits but spaced from the other conduitspaced apart retainer seals mounted between said spaced apart retainerelements to define an area therebetween, a cohesive material confinedwithin said area, said cohesive material surrounding and engaging saidconduits and resiliently retaining the same in assembled relationshipwith one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,322,189 11/1919 Holt 52-16 X2,572,713 10/1951 Flynt 285-187 3,076,669 2/1963 Schlein 285423 X3,117,810 1/ 1964 Hutton 287- X FOREIGN PATENTS 798,430 5/ 1936 France.1,119,740 4/ 1956 France. 1,321,532 2/ 1963 France.

841,166 7/1960 Great Britain.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner DAVE W. AROLA, AssistantExaminer

